George Meets Shanley
by PrudencePiperHalliwell
Summary: George Weasley is devastated by the loss of his brother. He feels lost and isolated himself from his entire family. It's only when he meets Shanley, the girl that his family has appointed to run his shop without his knowledge, that he begins to find himself again. (George/OC)
1. George Meets Shanley

The room was pitch black even though it was almost noon. The curtains were drawn shut to block out any potential sunlight that could disturb his slumber. The fireplace had been extinguished late in the evening, so not only was the room dark but there was a chill in the air. There were two beds that ran parallel with matching maroon and gold bedding. One bed was empty, the comforter still in place, as if it hadn't been touched for months. There was a mess of a blanket upon the other bed with a mop of fiery red hair laid out on the pillow. The only evidence of movement in the entire room was the ride and fall of this inhabitant's chest.

Loud footsteps startled George Weasley from his deep slumber. He groaned, rubbing his head and mumbling incoherently to no one in particular. His eyes were used to the darkness and he could make out where the sound was coming from as a few spots of light seeped in through the cracks in the door. "Wake up," his mother hollered, banging on his door repeatedly. "It's almost bloody noon get out of bed," she screamed through the locked door before retreating back to the kitchen with a trail of stomps.

George grumbled, flopping back down on the bed to stare at the ceiling. He then turned his head to the side towards the empty bed. "Afternoon, Fred," he mumbled as he did every morning, or rather every early afternoon when his mother dragged him out of his room. He laid there for another long moment, staring at the perfectly made bed that hadn't been slept in for months. This was his routine every morning; sleep like a zombie until his mother woke him up and then show his face for a few hours before returning to his room to isolate himself from the world once more.

Without even bothering to get properly dressed or open the curtains, he dragged himself out of bed and trudged for the door. He dragged his feet as if they were made of lead and throwing the door opened. "I'm up, woman," he roared back down the stairs before she could scream up at him again.

He had become the black sheep in his family almost overnight. Without his twin, George was lost. He hadn't been to the shop in weeks and the last time he was there, he nearly blew the place up during an experiment of his. If it weren't for the new shop manager that his family had hired to take care of things, his shop would have shut down. When Fred had died so had a part of George. As cliché as it sounds, George felt like a zombie, just going through the motions to appease his family.

In the beginning, they had left him alone, allowing him time to grieve. Apparently three months is the only allotted time a twin is given before he is expected to "snap out of it", as his younger brother had said to him one day angrily. As the months flew by, his family's patience with his lack of thrill for life and happiness depleted. It was only when he had found his mother crying outside of his door that he decided to try to put on a happy face for them, but mostly for his mother. It broke his heart when she told him that it felt like she had lost two sons by the way George was acting. "Georgie, I can't lose you two," she had cried into his chest. He was always a sucker for tears. What sane man could say no to his crying mother?

It was only then that he had found out what his family had been doing. In the few months he had isolated himself in his room, life had continued. It shouldn't have surprised him, but it did. How could everyone else simply move on with their lives and yet Fred had been taken away. He had been angry that his family had seemed to move on, but he kept his mouth shut. Things would never be the same again, but he would have to adapt and put on a happy face for his mother's sake.

Bill and Fleur were discussing children already to which his mother was beaming with pride. She adored being a mother and she would dote on her many grandchildren. His mother had been talking nonstop about grandchildren, but it was strange to think that nieces and nephews could be just around the corner. His eyes nearly flashed with anger when Fleur mentioned in her thick accent, "Maybe if we have a boy, we name him Fred." Bill must have seen the way George's fist clenched around his dinner roll because he immediately changed the subject.

Charlie was still off fighting dragons and giving everyone a heart attack by his near death circumstances. George was relieved to know that some things hadn't changed; Charlie was still good old Charlie, terrifying their mother with how close he was working to dragons. "And this one, boy this one was from a feisty one," he would begin a tall tale when someone asked about a new bandage or scar. George could appreciate his brother's passion for his work and listened intently to his tales. Fred had always laughed and said that one day Charlie was just going to wind up marrying one of his dragons since he was so in love with them.

Percy had been welcomed back into the family with open arms. George's stomach clenched with anger as it seemed that just when they had gained one brother, they had lost another. George hated thinking this, but he sometimes wondered why it hadn't been Percy. Why was it Fred? Fred had never done anything to deserve to die so young. Percy had been a traitor to his own family, surely that would have been justifiable. These were dark, dark thoughts to have and George shuddered whenever they entered his mind.

Ron had apparently made a move on Hermione in the middle of the war so now the two of them were an item. Or rather, they were the same bickering pair but now and again they would hold hands under the table or be caught snogging in the coat closet. The two of them were an interesting pair to watch. Ron thought he was so slick whenever he would casually glide his hand across Hermione's thigh underneath the table, thinking no one could see. Hermione would jump a mile high every time and her neck would turn a bright shade of crimson, almost matching Ron's ears. She would tense up and glance around the table to see if anyone else had noticed before placing her own hand over Ron's.

Harry and Ginny were still together and overtly so as per usual. Ginny had no problem grabbing Harry's hand at the dinner table or planting a firm kiss right on his lips in front of everyone. Ginny was the one that would leave Harry breathless and as red as a tomato. George found it amusing that his sister was the one that seemed to be in charge of that relationship. He wondered what Fred would have thought upon seeing all of the couples and new experiences going on in their family.

At first, George merely sat quietly and listened at the chatter among him. It was only when his mother piped in, "Oh, George! I want you to meet Shanley," that he spoke. "Who," he asked, raising an eyebrow, wondering why his mother wanted him to meet someone. "If you're trying to set me up," he began, frowning at the thought of who his mother would try to set him up with.

"Don't be silly. Shanley is running your shop," Ron said nonchalantly, reaching for another roll to stuff in his mouth. "Oof," he moaned, rubbing his side as Hermione had jabbed him in the ribs. "What'd you do that for," he roared, glaring at his girlfriend.

"What did you just say," George asked, his jaw dropped. He looked around the table and noticed that everyone was looking away from him. Ron seemed to be the only one oblivious to what was going on. "What do you mean someone has been running my shop," he asked, slamming his palms down on the table and leaning forward. His eyes narrowed from his father to his mother. "Someone tell me now," he said, raising his voice.

"It was Hermione's idea really," Percy piped up, glancing from Hermione back to George. "A brilliant idea really. A girl she knows from Hogwarts had gone to business school in America after Hogwarts."

"Hermione's friend has been running my shop," He repeated, his eyes nearly as wide as saucers. He had merely thought his family had kept it shut as he had announced the shop would be on an indefinite hiatus.

"It had been months since you mentioned it, George," Molly began, trying to calm her son down. She didn't know whether or not he would blow up in a rage or be appreciative. She was hoping for the latter. "You needed money to pay the rent and people had been sending owls about the business. Hermione had suggested asking her friend for help." Molly looked at Hermione for help.

She readily joined in the conversation, "Yes! A friend of mine, Shanley, was trapped at some boring desk job that she hated. I told her about your situation and she offered to help. She's been running the shop effortlessly for several months now."

George sat down in shock. "Some girl agreed to run my shop without meeting me? How do I know she's not stealing from me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, George. I've been monitoring her every move and she has been doing a very wonderful job. Your family has been keeping track of the records and the accounts. She set up a small salary for herself and other than that, all of the money has been going directly into your account."

"Plus the poor chit thinks that she's been corresponding with you, meanwhile it's really been Hermione," Ron said chuckling. Hermione's face reddened with embarrassment and shame. Her friend had refused to take over the shop without George's blessing as she was aware of the situation and respected his right as the shop owner. Hermione had been desperate to get her friend to sign on to the project, so she pretended to be George.

"Are you mad," George cried, running his hand through his hair. This was absurd! Some girl he had never met before was in charge of his entire shop. And on top of that, Hermione was doing his paperwork and taking care of his accounts while his family watched on. And the girl that was running his shop thought that Hermione was him. "You're all bloody insane," he said, burying his face in his hands, trying to sort through this entire headache.

Molly nervously twiddled with her fingers. "Yes, well now you know, dear. As I was saying I really think it's about time that you meet Shanley and see all the wonderful work that she has done."

That had been the longest dinner in months. It was currently a week later as George trudged downstairs, still dressed in his pajamas. His mother has insisted nonstop for several days after that eventful evening that he meet his new "partner". Finally, he had agreed to shut his mother up. Also, George felt uneasy that a stranger was running the shop that he had built with Fred. He had agreed to meet the girl, but he had no intentions of letting her continue running the shop. He had every intention to terminate her employment, present her with a handsome sum, and send her on her merry way.

Molly glared at her son, placing her hands on her hips. "Put some clothes on! The poor girl will be here any minute and I assure you she doesn't want to see that," Molly snapped, giving him a once over. Before George could formulate a witty reply, there was a loud knock on the front door. "She's here, she's here, she's here," Molly mumbled joyously, running towards the door.

George raised an eyebrow, making no attempt to run upstairs to change as his mother had insisted. Molly was too excited for this to merely be a business meeting. He had a strange feeling that his mother was hoping something more would come out of this. He hated to disappoint his mother, but this had gone too far.

His mother walked back into the dining room with a girl a few inches taller than his mother. She had long brown hair that reached down to her mid back and dull brown eyes that matched the shade of her hair. Her face was plain without any makeup and a few freckles were speckled across her nose. She wore a pair of muggle pants and an emerald green halter top that hugged her curves. She was a pretty girl, but she appeared young. She couldn't have been older than George, though George felt as if he had aged tremendously in the past few months since Fred had died. This girl looked too young to be a Hogwarts graduate, let alone a business school graduate, or someone who had been running his shop smoothly for several months.

She offered him a small smile at his attire. "I'm sorry Mr. Weasley, I didn't realize noon was too early for you to be decent," she said cheekily, though still held an innocent smile on her face.

George raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. He rubbed his hands on his flannel bottoms. "Yes well it is rather early for my liking," he said, shrugging nonchalantly in her direction. "I presume you are Shanley," he said, refusing to get up and properly greet the girl.

His mother narrowed her eyes at him and if looks could kill, he would be burning right about now. "You can call me George," he added to which his mother's look softened as she disappeared into the kitchen to tend to the cooking.

"Well George, Hermione has only recently informed me that you were oblivious to the fact that I was running your shop," she started, sitting down across the table from him. She folded her hands in front of her, raising an eyebrow as he nodded. "I apologize for that; I would not have agreed to take over the shop if I knew you were unaware of it. I presume you will be taking things from here," she continued on, trying to remain as professional as possible with a boss who was wearing nothing but pajama bottoms.

George blinked in surprise. He frowned, letting what she had just said sink in. She was quitting. Or rather, she was giving him back his own shop. There was something about the way that she announced her termination that left him uneasy. He was supposed to be firing her, she wasn't supposed to be quitting! "Well, erm, yes. That had been my intent."

She nodded and stood up. "Well I'm sure Hermione told you she has been watching me like a hawk and has gone over all of the records meticulously." She rolled her eyes and offered him a small smile. "The girl thinks that she's stealthy, but all of the cameras are in plain sight. I understand it's precautionary, but she didn't have to be so sneaky about it." She chuckled, remembering Hermione's face when she had confronted her friend regarding the cameras.

George frowned and stood up, not liking the sound of this. "So that's it," he asked. "You're done with the shop?"

Shanley raised an eyebrow and looked at him in confusion. "Well yes. That was the plan; I would run the shop until you were ready to come back." She crossed her arms over her chest wondering where this was going.

"I don't even know what you've done to my shop," George started, crossing his own arms over his bare chest. "I may need you to show me any new inventions or items you've added to the shelves. What if there's an error in the store or the paperwork that Hermione overlooked?"

"I assure you I have left detailed instructions and copies of everything in the records," Shanley snapped, defending herself. "I'm not a moron; I know how to properly run a business. I'm the one that has been running your shop for the past six months."

George's cheeks reddened as she did have a point there. He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, fair enough. It's just been a while since I've been in the shop. The last time I was running it, I had some help." His eyes darkened as he remembered the last time he had been in the shop was with Fred. He had never run the shop on his own. He didn't know how to make monumental decisions without his twin.

Shanley's gaze softened as Hermione had made her aware of the situation. "I could stay on as manager for a little," she offered in a small voice, unsure of what his reaction would be. "Until you get back on your feet again and feel comfortable enough by yourself. There are a few new tricky items I could show you." She uncrossed her arms and instead placed them behind her back. She shifted her feet uncomfortably waiting for his response.

George nodded. "That would probably be for the best. After all, who knows what crazy inventions you had installed!"

She glared at him again, crossing her arms across her chest. "I've increased your sales by thirty percent in a matter of six months! I know more about your own business than you do," she snapped to which George's eyes widened. He had no idea how successful, nor failing the business had been. Though, it seemed as if she had known what she was doing in the business. Perhaps it was a good idea to keep her on as a manager to see what else she had managed to do with the shop.

"But just put a shirt on," she insisted once he apologized for teasing her and praised her for her accomplishment.


	2. George Comes Back

A shrill cry could be heard from the back room of the shop that most definitely belonged to a female. A soft "oof" was followed by the abrupt yell accompanied by objects being thrown around. "What the," George Weasley mumbled, slowly making his way towards the back room. He had been standing outside of the shop for a good twenty minutes, simply staring at the moving picture of the twins that greeted customers. He had been staring at Fred's big goofy smile and his bright, lively eyes before he heard a bit of commotion on the inside. He quickly entered the store, but had been caught off guard by how packed the store was. There were boxes everywhere and inventory scattered across the floor. "Shanley," he called out hesitantly, uncertain of how to proceed through the mess to get to the back room.

It had been about a week since he had met his new co-partner/manager/helper/whatever title she wanted to deem herself. Originally, he had every intention of firing her, or politely terminating her employment of running his shop since he would be taking it over. Though, he was caught off guard when she rather told him that she was ending her employment. They had agreed that she would continue to run things, but on a smaller scale. George would take ownership of the shop once more and she would be somewhat of a store manager. Though some days she called herself nothing but a store helper and other days she called herself his business partner. Even though he had taken hold of the accounts and the paperwork once more, he hadn't actually stepped foot into the shop until today.

He was caught off guard by the amount of items that were flooding the shop. He had put in an order for items to be delivered last night, but he hadn't ordered this much. Finally, he made his way to the back of the store and was getting flustered when he didn't hear a voice in return. Opening the door, he couldn't help but chuckle. Shanley must have fallen and there was a nasty green goop all over the place. The back room had a wretchedly horrid smell that made him pinch his nose. "What the bloody hell are you doing," he demanded, trying to maintain a serious demeanor.

The girl blinked in shock for she hadn't been expecting George to come today. She narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. "Everything in this damn stockroom is so high up that I can't reach it. I had to jump to reach for something and this bloody awful slime spilled on me," she explained, as if that explained everything. "And what did you order," she demanded, veering off into a full rant. "I told you I was taking care of the inventory since you hadn't even stepped foot in the shop for several months. And now we have double the amount of what we need!"

George frowned, trying to recall her telling him that she would take care of the inventory. "I told you I would order things," he said as a matter-of-factly to which she replied, "And then I told you not to." He opened his mouth to retort back in a sarcastic manner, but thought better of it and snapped his mouth shut. The poor girl was already covered in a rotten green concoction. He really didn't need to start an argument with her, especially since this was only their second time meeting. They had exchanged countless owls back and forth regarding the shop. He had admired how she kept it completely professional. She never once asked about his personal life or mentioned his twin. In turn, he had refrained from asking about her personal life, though he found himself wondering.

"Maybe you should get cleaned up," he suggested after an awkward moment of silence. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of whether or not to help her up. She didn't seem to be looking for help, though he knew it would be the gentlemanly thing to do. "I can take over the shop for the day. You deserve a break and plus your demeanor might scare away any potential customers," he joked lightheartedly, trying to lighten the mood.

He was met with a dark, dark glare. "My demeanor," she repeated, highly offended. "I'm not the one that left this vile potion in here!" George rolled his eyes, "That wasn't mine. That was Fre-" He immediately snapped his mouth shut and frowned. That was Fred's green invention and he had been working on something before he died. That meant that the potion had been left untouched for more than six months since George certainly hadn't been to the shop to check on it.

Shanley must have felt the shift and she nodded, trying to rise out of the pile of goop. George noticed her struggle and silently offered her his hand. She readily accepted his help and nodded once more. "Thanks, I'm going to go home for the day. Try to do something about the shipment. I'll reschedule some appointments so that you're not bombarded with meetings you're not prepared for." She started to turn away to exit the room, green colored and all. "What appointments and meetings," George asked, dumbfounded.

She raised an eyebrow. "Investors – people that want to partner with you to open up more shops. I've been trying to keep them at bay as long as I can, but they've been getting restless." She smirked. "I wasn't running your shop into the ground, George, I've been trying to increase your business." He blinked back at her, dumbfounded. "Err, thanks," was all he managed to squeak out. He continued to stare after her as she left, leaving behind a foul odor. "Ugh, gross," he grumbled, the rotten smell pulling him out of his trance. With a flick of his wand, the smell along with the green potion remains were gone. Once more, he was alone with his thoughts.

It had only been a week since he had voluntarily isolated himself from the rest of the world. Though, since taking an interest in the business again he craved companionship. The absence of his twin was only made more evident when he was alone now. Before, he took comfort in it, but now he dreaded waking up and rolling over to see the empty, still made, bed that once belonged to his twin. Now, he hopped out of bed and practically raced downstairs to see if Shanley had sent him any owls. Sure enough, there would be at least two waiting and a third on its way. He had asked to be kept in the loop as much as possible and she had readily agreed. He was curious as to why she wouldn't inform him of the meetings that she had set up for the day.  
Looking around, he silently took it all in. The layout had changed a tad bit so that there was more room between the aisles. The shelves looked to be just as stocked as always, though there were some new inventions and items that he had never seen before. He was impressed with how quickly she had taken to the shop. He had been nervous that she took over and changed everything, but she had respected the fact that this was his shop and maintained things the way they were supposed to be. He made a mental note to thank her of that later as the bell above the door chimed.

Oliver Wood, an old friend and loyal customer waltzed in or rather, he tried to. "Shan, what's with all the junk," he called out, trying to push his way through the piles on the floor. Looking around, he didn't see Shanley, but he saw George himself in the flesh. "Bloody hell – George!"

The redhead couldn't help but grin at his former teammate. "In the flesh," he called out, spreading his arms wide to show that it was truly him. "I finally decided to make a comeback. I figured my fans needed to see me once more." Oliver managed to kick his way through the pile and the two embraced in a brief hug. "Shanley didn't tell me you were coming today."

George shrugged. "I didn't plan on it either, but I figured today is as good a day as any. I might have caught her off guard though," he said, chuckling at the memory of the petite girl covered in slime. "I sent her home for the day." George couldn't help but notice the way Oliver's shoulders sagged at the mention of Shanley not being here. He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Were you one of her appointments for today," he asked slowly, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Oliver grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "No, mate, I just make it a habit to pop in every now and then to check on the girl. She is a pretty one isn't she, mate. I was shocked when I found out you weren't shagging her already. Rather, I was shocked when I saw a girl working in here period." He laughed, recounting the story of the first time he had met her. "I think it was her first day or something. The poor girl didn't know if she was coming or going. She was trying to figure out your paperwork but was mumbling about chicken scratch handwriting. It took her a few days to sort through things, but she became a pro in no time."

George nodded, listening intently and picked up a hint of a crush. He blinked in shock at the thought of shagging Shanley. Heck, he hadn't even known she was running his shop, let alone who she was up until about a week ago. "I can assure you I'm not shagging her," George said, the tips of his ears turning a crimson shade. George had his fair share of girls back in Hogwarts, but since his twin had died he had stayed away from the female species. The last thing he needed was a clingy girl trying to crawl into his life. His bed was one thing, but he didn't need a girl trying to make herself a vital part of his everyday life. The idea of shagging Shanley had occurred to him numerous times since their first meeting. He had spent many restless nights since then waking up in a cold sweat wondering what she had looked like underneath those muggle jeans and that emerald top.

Oliver offered his mate a cheeky grin. "So then you wouldn't mind if I make a move on her," he asked, teasing George. He had known the Weasleys long enough to know their trademark; the tips of their ears turning a bright shade of red. It was obvious that George had some sort of reaction to the idea of shagging his new manager. George opened his mouth but couldn't formulate proper words in response to Oliver's question.

"Then again, it's probably best to leave the poor girl alone after all she's been through. The last thing you or her need is to have me mixing friends and employees," Oliver began, deciding to back off of the Shanley subject. Oliver hadn't seen George in ages and the last time he had seen him, he had appeared to be a member of the walking dead. He was definitely among the living, but mentally he was elsewhere. He had been lost and desperately searching. He still wasn't the same mate he remembered back in school, but at least now he was speaking.

George raised an eyebrow and repeated curiously, "All she's been through?" Oliver shrugged and nodded towards the door. He mumbled something about having to head to an important meeting and continued to kick through the inventory that was scattered across the floor. "Tell Shan I came by and do something about these silly toys before someone breaks their neck," he ordered to George before slamming the door shut behind him. He had left rather briskly after realizing that he had let something slip about Shanley. George didn't like the way that he brushed off George's question and rushed to leave, as if avoiding a conversation about what he knew about the girl.

He wondered if his mother knew anything about what Oliver was talking about. His mother seemed to know everyone's business so perhaps he knew what the heck was going on.


End file.
